Happy Endings Sleepover
A Unique Style of Film Making
The joy inherent in independent film making is the freedom to tell a story in a way that is not in line with the cookie-cutter expectations of the "Hollywood" studios.
DAVEY PORTER
Director | Producer
"Happy Endings Sleepover begged to be told in an atypical style," says producer/director Davey Porter. "It's not a spy thriller. It's not an events-driven picture. It is a love story, pure and simple, and as such it is important that the characterizations within the film reflect that," he explains.
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"This is a sweet story about discovery at a time in the
characters' lives when they are at their most vulnerable," Porter says. "They see things through a completely different lens, and it is important that we share their lens; their way of experiencing each other and the world around them."
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Porter says he is certain that he captured those creative elements in his film.
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"The feel had to be what I call realistically unrealistic," Porter says. "It needed a bright, almost pinkish Wes Anderson feel to it, and I think we achieved that."
Porter says audiences who go in expecting a docudrama on the ins and outs of the espionage trade "will be sorely disappointed. But if you allow the characters and their sometimes immature feelings and choices lead you through the story that they are sharing with you, then you will have a most enjoyable time. Because the people who are depicted in Happy Endings Sleepover are at a point in their lives when they are still discovering who they are. They are sweet. They have not yet tapped into the cynicism that so often blocks what we enjoy on many levels in our own lives. So in order to understand, or "get" Happy Endings Sleepover, one has to leave any preconceptions at the door and let these characters show you their world."
Since its debut on Amazon Prime Video, Happy Endings Sleepover has amassed nearly two-million unique views on the platform, and it also streams on Amazon in the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Australia.
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"Yeah, that's quite a pleasant surprise," Porter smiles. "Yet I'm actually not surprised," he says. "I think people are just tired of so many things. They're tired of keeping up, they're tired of being manipulated by media and other outside forces on how they are expected to think and react, they're tired of the political and current economic landscape, and...they're just tired."
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"So to be able to spend some time with these very welcoming and kind characters is truly a breath of fresh air," Porter says. "And we're seeing that it just doesn't matter that the characters are gay, or straight, or anything other than just very kind and engaging people."
Porter jokes that even the bad guy in the film, an almost stereotypical caricature of the Russian spy, displays a likeability that in another kind of film would be laughable. "Yeah," Porter continues, "I'd say that Kolya definitely shares traits with Boris Badinov. And that's his charm."
Porter knows that his film is provoking reactions from audiences by the wide range of reviews Happy Endings Sleepover is attracting on Amazon. "Since day one the percentages have remained unchanged," Porter explains. "We're in the upper 70's percentage when combining the four- and five-star reviews, down to about 18 percent left by those who either don't care for, or who just didn't "get" the film. Those are numbers to be proud of, if one cares about numbers," Porter laughs.
